Darling announces 200 earlier vehicles - again!

Telegrammed by our man at 222 Marylebone Road
Exciting news from the Chancellor's Pre Budget Report...

Introducing a green stimulus – ensuring part of the fiscal stimulus supports low-carbon growth and jobs by accelerating £535 million of capital spending on energy efficiency, rail transport, and adaptation measures. 76,000 low income households will benefit earlier from better heating and energy efficiency, up to 200 new rail carriages will be delivered earlier and 27,000 homes will benefit sooner from flood defences (cont. p94)

Earlier than what?

And could those 200 carriages refer to to the 202 DMU vehicles announced in similar terms in last year's Pre-Budget Report and subsequently abandoned.

We'd ask DfT if we thought the press office would understand the question.

We'd ask Stephen Hammond to raise it in Parliament, if we thought he would understand the question.

But as we suspect it's a cut and paste job from last year's Pre-Budget Report we'll do nothing but bury our head deep in our hands and weep.

After all does anyone believe a word that the 2009 Pre-Budget Report contains?

UPDATE: This, amazingly, from Hammond's 5th Surgeon...

Has 222 been on the Christmas gin?

The reason why the reference to 200 new vehicles looks like a cut'n'paste from the 2008 PBR is because it is from the 2008 PBR!

Not even this Chancellor would be craven enough to try and get away with the same nonsense twice... surely?